Ant-Man & Wasp’s Hannah John-Kamen Cast in Red Sonja
The Ant-Man and the Wasp actor Hannah John-Kamen will star in Millennium Film’s Red Sonja adaptation, directed by Joey Soloway (Six Feet Under, Transparent) and written by Tasha Huo (Tomb Raider series on Netflix).
Killjoys. Photo: CTV Sci-Fi Channel
Red Sonja
Red Sonja was originally created for Marvel Comics by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, debuting in 1973’s Conan the Barbarian #23. However, her initial design was inspired by a different character, Red Sonya of Rogatino, invented by Conan creator Robert E. Howard, and has changed over the years.
Marvel Team-Up #79. Photo: Marvel Comics via Not A Hoax Not A Dream
Due in part to the character’s formidable fighting skills, forthright personality, and chain-mail bikini, Sonja quickly became popular enough to get her own spin-off series.
Since appearing on the pages of Marvel comics, she has also appeared in novels, on television (in the 1980s Conan the Adventurer series), and 1985’s Red Sonja, starring Brigitte Nielsen in the eponymous role (with Arnold Schwarzenegger in a supporting role).
Photo: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Then, around 2005, both Red Sonja and Conan left Marvel for Dynamite Entertainment, and the publisher rebooted the character in 2013 with writer Gail Simone and artist Walter Geovani, who revised the Sonja’s origin to remove the brutal assault presented in the original version of her backstory from the 1970s Marvel Comics incarnation.
Photo: Dynamite Entertainment
In 2019, the publisher announced a new ongoing series that debuted in 2020. The creative team for the new Red Sonja series included writer Mark Russell, the man responsible for the critically acclaimed comic book relaunches for The Flintstones and Snagglepuss, artist Mirko Colak, colorist Dearbhla Kelly, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
Photo: Dynamite Entertainment
Hannah John-Kamen
Hannah John-Kamen is best known for her role as the villain Ghost in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp from Marvel Studios – and in my opinion, she’s one of the best villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.
Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost) on set BTS. Photo: Ben Rothstein/Marvel Studios 2018
Being cast in Red Sonja could be a major career step for John-Kamen, who started on U.K. television series like Happy Valley and Cucumber. And Marvel Blog True Believers, may be interested to know that her first breakout role was Sonja in the Black Mirror episode “Playtest” opposite fellow Marvel actor Wyatt Russell.
Hannah John-Kamen and Wyatt Russell in Playtest. Photo: Netflix
John-Kamen has also appeared in the Netflix series The Stranger, Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, and Tomb Raider with Alicia Vikander. However, with this new role, she finds herself headlining an ambitious feature that has her portraying a controversial and recognizable pop culture figure.
Alicia Vikander, Hannah John-Kamen, and Annabel Elizabeth Wood in 2018’s Tomb Raider. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
Red Sonja‘s director Soloway said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
Hannah is a very talented actress who we’ve been following for years and she IS Red Sonja. Her range, sensibilities and strength are all qualities we have been looking for and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey together.
The film has bounced around Hollywood for quite some time now, and hopefully, with John-Kamen’s casting, it will finally receive the green light to begin production.
Red Sonja Comings Soon?
As can be said for any property that gets shopped around Hollywood for awhile, fans have been eagerly awaiting news on this film – as many are ready to see the updated version of Sonja come to life on the big screen.
Red Sonja #25, cover art by Joseph Michael Linsner. Photo: Dynamite Entertainment
At the European Film Market earlier this year, Soloway noted, “There could not be a greater moment in our world for Red Sonja’s ways of wielding power and her connection with nature and our planet.” What do you think Marvel Blog True Believers?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter; Photo: Christina House/Los Angeles Times
